Too Many Tears to Cry
by Diamond Sylvan
Summary: Katie Bell and Oliver Wood. Seventh year, it's Katies last chance with Oliver, see inside for more. Katie Oliver Angelina Fred Alicia George A little Cedric some Cho a great story full of drama! Read and Review!
1. Just Friends

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**Authors Note: Hey guys, this is a new story. **

**Summary: Katie has always had a thing for Oliver, that's why she joined the Quiddich team to begin with. But now it's her seventh year, and her last chance to get the man of her dreams. Will he fall for someone else? Will she?**

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**I know that Oliver and Katie aren't really the same year, but for the purposes of this story, they are. Disclaimer: I own none of these people places or things, except the ones I do. And also, none of this is the same as from the actual books, except the characters of course...but like, there's no Voldemort stuff, and none of that. Okay, so i hope you enjoy! R&R!!**

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Chapter One

Just Friends

_Once upon a time, long ago and far away, in a land of princesses, knights in shining armor, and dragons, there lived a maiden who loved a knight. This fair maidens name was Katie Bell, and the knights name was Oliver Wood. He was perfect and handsome and talented and kind and good, but he saw her only as a friend. He often visited her house, and though she doted on him and offered him trinkets and gifts, he never thought of her as more than a friend. He would always ask her advice on how to make the princesses or other maidens notice him, and though she gave him the best advice she could, Katie often asked herself how she should know how to get the love of your life to notice you._

Katie Bell crumpled up her piece of parchment and shoved it into the crackling Gryfindor fire. Katie was a writer, always had been, but recently she had not been able to put quill to parchment without writing about her and Oliver. _Stop, don't go there. There is no you and Oliver, he's only a friend. A friend who is the captain of the Quiddich team, and absolutely perfect, but a friend who is not interested in you, so stop thinking that!_ Katie told herself firmly.

She slammed her head into a chair cushion and thought of the truth in her story. Oliver was one of her best friends, and she had always liked him, and he never noticed her. He was always asking her for advice on how to get girls to notice him, as if she would be a reliable source of information on this subject.

It wasn't even as if he needed help getting girls to notice him either. All he had to do was run his fingers through that shaggy blonde hair, or stare at them with those deep hazel eyes that you could just drown in, and they would be gone. At least anyone who had half a brain would be.

This year was Katie's last chance with Oliver. They were seventh years, and after this year he would leave and sign with some Quiddich team, and forget all about her. It would be over. She had been mooning over him for years. Ever since the second year when she had come back to Hogwarts and for the first time noticed the tall, handsome, quiet Oliver Wood with the melancholy eyes and the dishy accent. When he had made the Quiddich team Katie had convinced her two best friends, Angelina and Alicia to try out with her.

Alicia was an amazing athlete and had been thinking of trying for a spot anyway, and that compounded with the fact that her boyfriend, George Weasley, was joining the team was enough to convince her.

Angelina too had been a push over. She had liked Fred Weasley longer than Katie had liked Oliver, and was more than eager to try her hand at Quiddich.

Angelina was now dating Fred, and Alicia was still with George, but Katie had yet to get Oliver.

True, joining the team had been a huge step. A leap even. They were good friends and hung out all the time in and out of Quiddich. But he still saw her as no more than a friend.

"What's wrong girl? You don't look too good." Angelina said as Katie sat down at the table where Lee, Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina were all sitting doing homework.

"Thanks Ange, that's really nice and supportive." Katie said sarcastically. Angelina was right though. Katie was not looking her usual self. Her normally bright, happy blue eyes were somewhat bloodshot, and her straight blonde hair looked a little disheveled.

Katie had always had an understated, classic beauty, so unlike the stunning looks of Alicia, or even the attention getting appearance of Angelina. Katie was average height and slender. Angelina was at least 5'10", with dark black hair, dark skin, and and prominent nose. She also had big, round, almost black eyes. When you first looked at her, it was somewhat startling, but when you really looked, she was gorgeous. Alicia also had blonde hair, but hers had more body than Katie's. It was wavy and sometimes out of control. She had brown eyes that had been referred to as "deep pools of chocolate" when George was feeling particularly romantic.

"You know what I mean. Are you quite well? You know Katie, the NEWTs are ages and ages away, you don't need to work so hard yet!" Angelina told her, pulling up a seat for Katie to sit between herself and Lee.

"I know, it's not that." Katie sighed. She was tired, and overworked, and she was stressed about the NEWTs. Their teachers had been giving them so much work lately that Katie didn't even know what to do. That and the pressure of deciding what she wanted to do with the rest of her life was completely overwhelming. She needed a few more years at least before she could decide what she wanted to do with herself after Hogwarts. Fred and George and Lee wanted a joke shop. That was perfect for them. Angelina wanted to be an auror, and Alicia wanted to go into banking. Oliver wanted to, obviously, play Quiddich non stop for the rest of his life. Secretly, Katie wanted to be a journalist for the Daily Prophet, but she knew it would never happen, and was embarrassed to confess her dream to anyone. So she avoided the problem by telling anyone who asked that she hadn't made up her mind yet.

"Well, I'm off for detention with Filtch, the old git. Coming George?" Fred asked, sliding his chair away from the table and kissing Alicia goodbye. Lee coughed loudly into his arm as he did so and Fred scowled at him.

"Is it time already? Well I suppose I must. Farewell all, and if you figure out the answer to the potions question, be sure to fill me in." He winked and kissed Angelina. When they walked away the remaining five slid their chairs around, now that there was more room at the table, it was a much more comfortable fit.

"I just hope they don't get into any more trouble with Filtch." Sighed Angelina looking at the portrait hole after the twin's retreating backs.

"Oh, he's an old bat." Snorted Lee.

"He's had it out for them since forever." Alicia added.

"I wonder why." Katie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Me too, could it have been that time they dropped the dung bombs all over the main entrance hall?" Lee asked.

"Which time? They've done that so often I've lost count." Alicia said, chuckling.

"Maybe it was when they put the coloring potion in the food, and after breakfast everyone started glowing different colors from the inside and getting sick." Lee suggested.

"Oh, can't be that, they only did that once! Hardly reason to hold a grudge. And they just mixed in the counter potion in with the next meal." Angelina said.

"Yes, but at that point everyone was so hesitant to eat the food, and so suspicious that next time they ate their hair would fall out, that only about half the people actually took the counter potion." Katie reminded them.

"Well, yes, but that's hardly their fault is it?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, I bet it was that time when they stole Mrs. Norris and locked her up in the suit of armor." Lee declared.

"Well, they were really only trying to do a service to the school. That and buy Peeve's some time to rearrange all the drawers in Filtch's filing cabinet." Angelina said.

"I must admit, it would have been a service to the school if it had worked." Katie said, laughing a little at the memory of the twin's antics.

"We got rid of her for three days, that was quite an accomplishment." Alicia said, snorting with laughter.

"Do you remember how she howled when she found she was trapped? And how she would disrupt all the classes as the suit of armor ran through the halls away from Filtch?" Angelina reminded them.

"That was because George jinxed it to." Lee told them.

"You know, Mrs. Norris is still afraid of that suit of armor? I've seen her walk around it, eyeing it suspiciously the whole time." Katie informed them. At this point they were all laughing uproariously, disrupting some of the other occupants of the common room.

There was a companionable silence for a while as they all buckled down to ge some work done. Katie was working on a two foot long essay for professor Snape on the workings of a Wake-Up potion. The potion was supposed to wake you up at a predesigned time. If you took it the night before, then you would wake up feeling perky and wide awake right away. Pretty genius actually, but a boring essay to write. She had just finished that and started working on her transfiguration assignment when the twins came back in.

"The old git made us polish silver!" Fred declared, outraged, again disrupting the peace and quiet of the common room. Katie was startled by the noise. For the past hour or so the only sounds had been the crackling of the fire and the scratching of quills with the occasional whispered conference. As the twins entered and started talking loudly, Katie jumped a little in her seat and ended up making a large scratch across her parchment.

"Well, that must have been relatively easy-" Angela started to say consolingly.

"-Would have been too." Fred said.

"If we could've used magic! The smarmy little git made us use our 'elbow strength.'" George growled, rubbing his upper arm. Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Lee all started to laugh quietly, and then progressively louder as the twins' identical scowls grew larger. Fred and George puffed and hugged a little as they plopped into armchairs.

"Wasn't particularly amusing to me." Fred pouted.

"Me neither." George confirmed.

"Well, I guess you had to be there." Lee said, trying to look serious but only fueling the girls giggles.

"Well, I'm off to bed, Quiddich practice tomorrow remember?" Katie said, rising and yawning a little.

"Night." Called the others who had been sitting with her as she started up the stairs.

"Does she have it bad or what?" George asked, looking after her.

"For who?" Lee asked skeptically.

"Isn't it obvious?" Fred asked hautily.

"Oh, do tell." Alicia said sarcastically.

"You mean you don't know?" George asked incredulously.

"You don't know anything either so get down off your high horse." Angelina said annoyed.

"Of course I know." George said, affronted.

"We thought everyone knew." Fred said, waving his hand to encompass the entire room and the world at large.

"Well they don't, so either shut up or get on with it." Alicia said impatiently.

"Oliver of course." George said, snorting a little so that his hair flew up out of his eyes, and then immediately fell back down.

"What? That's crazy." Angelina said derisively.

"Is not. It explains why she always wants to get up early for Quiddich, and have extra practice, and why she always goes to bed early hen Oliver isn't hanging about. I'm surprised it's taken you lot this long to figure it out." Fred said, looking smug. The girls looked like they were considering it, but Lee just looked mystified.

"Well, I suppose it would explain a few things." Angelina conceded reluctantly.

"Yes, it would, and she does. She's got it so bad." George said, smiling.

"And?" Alicia prodded.

"And what?" George asked, his smile flickering.

"And what are you going to do about it? Why did you bring it up? What's your point?" She asked, poking him in the arm after every question for emphasis.

"Hey, easy on the arm! I don't know, what do you want me to do? Out of my hands. There is nothing I can do." George said, waving his hands in the air.

"Are you kidding? The reigning champions of mischief at Hogwarts can think of nothing? The world is ending." Angelina said dramatically, placing the back of her hand to her forehead and leaning back, closing her eyes.

"Oh, we'll think of something. Of that you can be sure." Fred challenged.

"I await the day with pleasure." Angelina challenged back.

"I'm done too all, I think I'm going up to bed."

"Night Ange." Fred said as she went up the stairs, she waved her hand over her shoulder.

"Night!" Called the others.

"I think I'll go up too, seeing as I'm sure you boys want to scheme a little." Alicia said, standing as well.

"Night." The boys all chorused.

"So, how are we going to get them together?" Lee asked.

"No idea, but I do know that it's too late to think about it now, so I'm going to go get some shut eye. Katie's right, infatuation with Oliver or no, Quiddich is early tomorrow." Fred said, stretching his arms over his head.

"I know!" Lee exclaimed, yawning a little.

"Exactly, the crack of dawn." Fred said. The boys all walked up the stairs and retired for the evening, leaving a much subdued and quiet common room behind them.

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**Authors Note: So, what do you think? Any good? Should I continue or no?**

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	2. Homework Session

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**Authors Note: Hey, sorry if there awas any confusion about the twins! I get confused myself sometimes...haha. Fred is dating Angelina and George is dating Alicia, and Katie and Oliver is the theme for this story, but Katie isn't an option when you go to say which characters the story is about, so I couldn't put her. **

**Anyway, I was so excited to have gotted all those reviews! Thanks **

**shortiibabi**

**hik**

**lilyqueen777**

**wheresthespacekey**

**AnnieShan**

**Miss Court-A-Doo .... **

**Oh, I read Lilyqueen77's story, and it's amazing, and I read hik's story, and it's also amazing. Oh, and also, to wheresthespacekey, thanks so much for emailing me!  I love talking to you!  haha.  If anyone else has anything they want to say (put please be gentel...I have a very fragile ego and harsh critizism with no constructivness is rough...haha) then feel free to email or im me!  Oh, and Miss Court-A-Doo's story is also amazing. All of you should read them! Ok, well here's another update with hopefully more coming soon!!**

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Chapter 2

Homework Session

    The next morning Katie woke up early, stretching and yawning widely. She realized that there was a Quiddich practice, quickly got out of bed, and splashed some water on her face. She pulled on her robes and glanced at her watch. There was half an hour until practice, and she still had to have breakfast.

    She grabbed her broom and went down to the common room. There was no one in it, as it was too early on a Saturday for everyone else to be up, and too late in the morning for any of the Quiddich players to be there. She ran her fingers through her hair, wondering somewhat angrily why Angelina and Alicia hadn't woken her when they had left.

    She pulled her hair into a ponytail without even caring whether or not there were lumps. She entered the great hall slightly out of breath and piled her plate with pancakes. There was no one else at her table. Could she have gotten the time wrong? Why was everyone at practice so early? She thought that there would at least be people still eating.

    She looked at her watch again and saw that she had ten minutes left. She shoveled the pancakes lathered in syrup and butter into her mouth even faster, and chugged a glass of orange juice. In three minutes flat she had her broom over her shoulder and was on her way towards the door.

    She still had to change into her Quiddich robes too. She thought nervously as she half walked half jogged across the grounds to the pitch. When she reached the pitch the team was already practicing.

    "Katie, where have you been? You're 30 minutes late!" Oliver shouted from the air.

    "I'm not! I've got thirty seconds before I'm even on time! I'm early!" Katie said self righteously.

    "No one told you? I told everyone yesterday that practice was starting a half hour earlier!" Oliver told her, positioning himself in front of the center hoop to block a pass of Angelina's. He was not even looking at her, he was so focused on the game.

    "Way to keep me posted guys! You've really got my back." Katie said sarcastically, more than a little irritated with Oliver for yelling at her, and with Alicia and Angelina for failing to wake her up.

    "We thought you had already left! Your curtains weren't open or anything, how were we to know you had overslept? You're always the first out!" Angelina shot back, narrowing in on Oliver to score a goal.

    "I'm going to go change, I'll be right out." Katie said.

    There was no response. The twins were pelting each other with bludgers, and Alicia was hovering underneath Angelina in case she dropped the quaffle.

    She quickly pulled her black robes over her head and pulled her red Gryfindor robes on. She ran back to the pitch and mounted her broom. She slammed her feet down a little harder than she normally would have, and shot into the air fast. Her stomach dropped. She gulped a little nervously, and slowed down.

    No sooner was she in the air than a bludger flew at her arm. She rocketed into the air again, looking around for the twin who had hit it at her.

    "Sorry about that Katie, won't happen again!" Said George, winking roguishly.  "I'll make sure of that."  He said, zeroing in on Fred and pelting the bludger back to the opposite end of the court.  Fred was forced to to perform a complicated barrel role to avoid it.

    "Alicia, over here!" Katie called. Alicia had apparently taken the quaffle when Oliver blocked Angelina's shot. Alicia turned, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling.

    She threw the quaffle at Katie with perfect precision. Katie caught it and sped towards Oliver. The wind whipped at her hair, taking it out of the pony tail. The elastic hit her on the back on its way down to the ground. She didn't even look to see where it landed. She was focused intently on the center hoop.

    She dodged another bludger, glanced down to see Angelina covering her. She went up and then left, her attention going at last to Oliver.

    "Come on Katie!" She heard Angelina call from below. She kept her eyes locked on Oliver's. He flew a little closer to her, his eyes locked on hers. She looked to the center hoop. He was blocking it completely. She looked to the left, then right.

    His natural lean would be to go right, and it would take him a few seconds longer to block that hoop. But then, he would be expecting her to go that way. But, knowing Oliver, he would be anticipating a fake. Katie made her decision in a spilt second. She flew right, Oliver, a slight smile of triumph pulling at his lips, flew right. Katie forgot about him and threw the quaffle through the left hoop.

    Alicia and Angelina cheered, Oliver scowled.

    "Good shot Katie!" He said, recovering. He seemed to have realized that if she could score on him, that was a good thing for the Gryfindor team. Harry Potter, the Gryfindor seeker, swooped down and snatched the snitch from the bottom of the right hoop. The team cheered.

    They continued practice for a while, and at the end Oliver was thoroughly content. That was good, if Oliver was in a good mood and well satisfied with practice, then they would not have a long lecture on strategy.

    "Is everyone ready for our match on Slytherin tomorrow?" He asked as they changed out of their red robs and into their black Hogwarts robes.

    "Yes." The team chorused dully, chomping at the bit to get back to the castle in time for lunch.

    "All right, all right, you can all go." Oliver said. "Katie, wait for a minute will you?" He asked as she passed him for the door.

    "Sure Oliver, what is it?" She asked, stopping. The rest of the team filtered out of the dressing room. Katie and Oliver were standing alone. Her heart began to pound in her chest, her breath quickened slightly, she felt hot.

    "I just wanted to apologize for yelling at you earlier, I should have told you personally about the change in time." He said, shuffling his feet sheepishly. Katie laughed.

    "I really don't care Oliver. I'm sorry for being late."

    "So, you don't care?" He asked confused.

    "I'll only care if you hold me back making sure I don't care so long that I miss lunch. Then I would care. Let's go." She said, taking Oliver's hand and dragging him out of the locker room. As soon as they were out in the sunlight she came back to her senses.  She dropped his hand as if it had burned her. She mentally slapped herself for having grabbed him like that. That was a stupid thing to do. What could have come over her?  Fortunately, however, Oliver didn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.

    They walked up to the castle discussing the summers Quiddich World Cup. Oliver had already walked Katie through every play, but he loved talking about it, so Katie humored him. She gasped and asked questions in all the right places.

    The reached the great hall and sat down next to each other continuing to debate whether or not the Cannons would go all the way this year or not. Oliver thought not, he argued that their keeper was no good, and that he couldn't block a bright red barn, let alone a bright red quaffle.

    Katie laughed at the vehemence with which Oliver argued his point, and then proceeded to point out that they had the best chasers, and if they could score more points than the keeper let in, or keep the quaffle away from his end of the field, then what did the keeper matter anyway? Oliver grunted and huffed and then accepted defeat.

    "So, Oliver, have you started the runes translation yet?" Katie asked, steering the subject away from the emotional topic of Quiddich.

    "No, I have to do that this afternoon I guess. You?"

    "Yeah, I started last night. It's impossible. I do not understand it at all. She never explained it! How can she give us homework on something we've never worked on before?" Katie asked angrily.

    "She always has. What did you expect? That she would give us a test and then we would have a night off homework? Heaven forbid." Oliver said sarcastically.

    "That's what normal teachers do." Katie huffed. "Did you hear her say she's grading it as a quiz too? We've never even gone over it!"

    "That's not fair. Good thing I don't have high and lofty career aspirations, eh?"

    "You do to. You want ot be a keeper, that's lofty if ever I heard it before. Just because it has nothing to do with school work doesn't mean it's not a career aspiration." Katie told him.

    "Yeah, well, less lofty than yours I should say." Oliver said modestly.

    "Not at all. Quiddich is very important." She said grandly, waving her fork in the air for emphasis and accidentally getting some carrots on Fred's sleeve.

    "You've never told me what you wanted to be, anyway.  What's your plan for your life?"  Oliver asked.  Katie could have kicked herself.  He had tricked her into admitting that she did have career goals. 

    "Oh, I don't know.  Whatever they are though, they'll never compare to your lofty ambitions."  She said, recovering slightly.  She smiled.  He did not look convinced, but seemed willing enough to let it pass. 

    "Well, that's a long ways away from now, so let's not think of it. Want to do that chart with me this afternoon?" Oliver asked.

    "Sure. I'll run get my stuff after lunch." Katie replied, her cheeks flushing a little. She hoped Oliver wouldn't notice.

    "All right. Yeah. Good plan." Oliver said, scooping up a forkful of his shepherds pie.

    "Where do you want to work? Library?" Katie asked.

    "Nah. Too stuffy. It's such a nice day, why don't we work outside?" Oliver asked, shoveling some more pie into his mouth.

    "Okay, sounds like a party." Katie said.

    "Oy, Ange, you done runes yet?" Oliver asked. Katie's heart sank yet again. It was not going to be just her and Oliver after all. It was going to be everyone in their runes class.

    "No, why? You doing it?" Angelina asked turning away from Fred for a minute.

    "Yeah, after lunch. Alicia, you done it?" Oliver asked, turning. Alicia turned away from a conversation with Lee and George about the pros and cons of waterproff fireworks to reply.

    "Yeah, I finished.  I'm that good. I need to work on potions this afternoon." Alicia told him.

    "Okay, Lee?" Oliver asked.

    "I'm with Alicia on this one, I did it last night." Lee told him.

    "Fine, so Katie and Ange, after lunch, runes." Oliver said.

    "It's a date." Angelina said winking and turning back to Fred.

    How was Angelina so confident? Maybe that was Katie's problem. Maybe she should try to be more upfront about everything. Angelina was perfectly comfortable saying things like 'it's a date' to guys, whereas Katie would read way too much into it and spend the next day freaking out, asking herself if she had been too obvious.

    They finished eating and started up to the Gryfindor common room to get their homeowork. Katie ran quickly up to the girls dorm and grabbed her bag.

    "Ready?" Oliver asked, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Ange says she needs to go talk to Magonagal quickly, but that she'll be out in a few. So shall we?" He asked, offering his arm.

    Katie giggled and blushed.  This was Oliver, her knight in shining armor. Oliver helped her out of the portrait hole, and then they walked arm in arm down the corridor to the grand staircase. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Oliver got on one knee and offered her his hand to help her down.

    "May I offer you my services, fair maiden?"  He said, laughing merrily.

    "I would be honored, bold sir knight.  How chivalrous of you."  Katie answered, giggling again at the idea of needing his help to walk down a stair.  She played along with his game, secretly thinking that it was quite amusing how the day after she had written a story comparing him to a knight, he decided to play his mideval times games with her.  For a moment Katie began to panick  _Could he have read it?  What did I do with it?  Think Katie!  Where's the story now?  _It took her a moment to return to her senses and rememebr that she had thrown the story in the fire after first ripping it to shreds.  It was just a coincedence. 

    She took his hand and curtsied, stepping down daintily. They walked across the main entrance way and he opened the door for her.

    They made their way across the grounds to the base of their favorite tree. Oliver conjured a blanket and spread it on the ground with Katie's help. They spread out their books and lay  n their stomachs, scribling a few notes. Katie turned the page of the book they were sharing lazily.

    "Ergh. I do not understand this." Oliver moaned. "She's awful, she goes so fast! I never understand anything!"

    "Here, look, this one means sun, and this one means flower, right?" Katie explained, pointing into the book with her quill.

    "Yeah." Oliver replied grumpily.

    "So when you put sun and flower together, what do you get?" Katie asked patiently.

    "A sunflower?" Oliver suggested.

    "Exactly. See, it's really easy.  It's just about two different types of pictures relating to eachother." Katie told him.

    "Yeah, maybe it's easy for you, but not all of us are geniuses." Oliver said sulkily.

    "Oliver, I'm not a genius, firstly, and secondly, it is easy, I know you can do it. Maybe if you paid a little more attention in class rather than making eyes at a certain red head who sits in the front row." Katie said, trailing off at the end of her sentence. Why had she had to bring up Margret now? Why did she always do that?

    "Do you think she likes me?" Oliver asked dreamily.

    "Maybe, why don't you ask her out?" Katie suggested.

    "Because, she's dating Roger Davies." Oliver said, scowling.

    "Well then she obviously doesn't like you." Katie said cruelly. Oliver sighed, rolling onto his side.

    "So what's going on with you Katie? I feel like I hardly ever see you lately." Oliver said, looking at the patterns made by the sun shining through the leaves on the tree onto the blnket.

    "And when you do see me you're yelling at me for being late." Katie added.

    "Yeah, sorry about that, totally my fault." Oliver said quickly and appologetically.

    "It's okay." Katie assured him. He was so sweet. She felt herself melting on the inside, no matter how hard she tried to make herself. "So, runes" Katie said after a long and silent pause in during which she found herself staring into Oliver's hazel eyes. She noticed that there were little flecks of gold in them, and he had unnaturally long eyelashes.

    "Right, runes." Oliver repeated. He appeared to be shaking himself and then he quickly looked back to the book.

    "I wonder where Angelina is." Katie said, feeling that the silence was akward.

    "Right here." Angelina announced walking up in front of them and plopping down on the blanket next to Katie. "Sorry it took me so long guys, I got a little caught up with Magonagal." Angelina explained.

    "Oh? What'd she want?" Oliver asked.

    "She wants me to take over as Quiddich captain Oliver. She feels that you are incompetent." Angelina told him. He froze, staring at her with an expression of complete horror on his face. "I'm kidding! Honestly! You need to loosen up, you take Quiddich way too seriously. She wanted to talk to me about my career aspirations." Angelina told him, gafawing loudy.

    "You're worse than Fred.  Quiddich happens to _be_ my career aspiration, Ange, it's no joke to me." Muttered Oliver, angrily.

    "And you need a girlfriend." Angelina toldhim, nudging Katie a little as she said it. Katie looked at her, a question written in her eyes. Angelina did not look back, perhaps she had just been shuffling. Or did she know something? Katie mentally shook herself for being so paranoid and returned to earth and the converstaion unfolding in front of her.

    "Yeah, don't I wish." oliver siged.

    "Oh? Got your eye on anyone special?" Angelina asked, curious asalways for a good scandal.

    "Yeah." Oliver said slowly, hesitating a little. Angelina would tell Fred, who would tell George, who would tell Alicia. Then everyone would know. He was sure the twins would tease him. But then again, if he started dating her they would find out, so better sooner than later.

    "Well, who is she?" Angelina asked.

    "Margret." Had he just looked at Katie as he said it? If he had it was only for a split second, but still, Katie felt sure he had looked at her. What did that mean? Was he telling her something? Or was she just over analyzing and reading too much into nothing?

    "Margret?" Angelina asked, waiting for him to embelish. "Adjectives would help."

    "Margret, cute, smart red head from our runes class. Dating Roger Davies." Oliver told her.

    "I see." Angelina said slowly.

    "What is that supposed to mean?" Oliver asked quickly, rearing for a fight.

    "Nothing!" Angelina said, leaning back and throwing up her hands. "I only just thought that...well, it doesn't matter." Oliver snorted and dropped it, knowing that arguing now would do nothing, she wouldn't tell him either way.

    They settled down and completed two nights of runes homework, began reviewing for the test, and studied for the inevidable quix that was bound to take place the next day.

    "Katie, I don't understand this."  Oliver burst out a few minutes later.

     "Okay, see this line that they added diegonally here?  See, just there?  What does that mean to you?"  Katie asked him.

     "Absolutely nothing."  Oliver replied stubbornly.

    "Okay, because it's thick and right underneath the adjective, that means that it represents the verb To Have, right?"  Katie asked.

    "I suppose so."  Oliver said, shaking his head.

    "Do you even vaguely remember talking about this in class?"  Katie said, slightly exasperated.

    "I guess.  Ever so vaguely."  Oliver said, shrugging.  "Runes isn't my strong suit, you know that Katie.  She starts talking and it all feels like a different language." 

    "That might be due in part to the fact that it is, Oliver."  Angelina reminded him. 

    "Right.  It's all making sense now.  No wonder I never understand anything she says.  I thought her accent was even thicker than most of yours."  Oliver said, acting as if he had just experienced a great epiphamy. 

    Katie and Angelina sighed, going back to their own work.  He was hopeless.

    As the sun rose higher in the sky, so high in fact that it was sinking, Katie began to get cold.

    "Are you cold Katie?" Oliver asked. "You're covered in goosebumps! You're shivering!" He declared, putting his hand on her arm.

    "Just a little cold." She chattered at him.

    "Come on, let's go back to Gryfindor tower, we've done studying anyway." Oliver suggested, helping Katie and then Angelina up off the blanket. He then picked up the blanket and wrapped it around Katie's shoulders.

    They walked up to the castle and made it to Gryfindor tower. they sat down in front of the fire and stuck their feet in front of the flames.

    "Ahh." Sighed Katie with pleasure as she warmed up.

    "It's really starting to be winter then, I suppose." Oliver said sadly.

    "Yes, all the leaves are gone and it's getting cold already." Katie said, also sadly.

    "Soon there wil be snow though!" Said Angelina enthusiastically. She loved the winter.

    "Well yes, but right now we're in the in between phase when you can't play in the snow, but you can't play outside either. We're all stuck indoors. That or outside in parkas." Katie said, looking out the window.

    "Practice will be hell in this cold. Oh well, once we start flying we'll warm up." Oliver said, cheering up at the thought of Quiddich.

    "I hadn't even thought of the tortures of throwing a quaffle in this weather!" Angelina howled, rubbing her knuckles in anticipation of the torture to come.

    "Oh, come on, it's not so bad. Besides, we need to be ready for our first match of the season!" Oliver exclaimed excitedly.

    The girls rolled their eyes at eachother as Oliver started talking about the Quiddich Cup and the importance of this match.

* * *

**Authors Note: Okay, that was a reaaally long chapter, like, 12 or 13 pages I'm pretty sure.  So I hope it was worth the wait!  Haha, thanks again for everyones reviews, and I hope you keep giving me feedback and imput, I really appreciate it!  Was it any good?  It was a little fluffier right?  I'm on the way to the really good stuff though, like when people actually start dating and stuff...haha I can't wait to write that!  If any of you have any ideas for improvements, I would be really grateful!  **

* * *


	3. The Match

**Authors Note: Sooo sorry for keeping you all waiting so long!! I feel sso bad! Hope you haven't lost the thread of the story affter all this time! When did I last update this? Like 2 whole weeks? Anyway, this is a really long chapter. It's like 10 pages, so read it, review it, and I hope you enjoy it! **

Chapter 3

Quiddich Match

"They lied! Those lousy, cheating scumbags!" Oliver raged, storming into the common room and throwing himself onto the couch next to Katie. He punched a pillow in anger.

"What happened Oliver?" She asked comfortingly.

"Those lousy, stinking Slytherins! That's what happened!" He fumed, pounding the pillow again.

"What did they do?" She asked calmly.

"They're not playing us tomorrow! They canceled at the last minute! We're playing Hufflepuff!" Oliver declared, outraged. Katie should have guessed it would be about Quiddich, it was always about Quiddich with Oliver. Lately he had been stretched to the breaking point over this Quiddich game against Slytherin.

"But Oliver, that's a good thing." Katie told him.

"How!? How is that in any was a good thing?" Oliver was almost screaming. When he got mad he got flustered, and when he was flustered that incredible, under-the-surface accent always became more pronounced. Katie tried hard to conceal a smile.

"Well, Oliver, Hufflepuff is worse than Slytherin, it will be easy to beat them. We don't need to worry about the first game anymore." Katie explained to him with the air of explaining something very simple to someone very thick.

"No, we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin. If we're not, that changes everything!" Oliver said, taking deep, shallow breaths and punching the pillow periodically.

"But Oliver, Hufflepuff isn't as good as Slytherin." Katie said again.

"But Katie, they're better this year. Diggory is their captain, and he's got a whole new training routine, all new tactics. Trust me, they're good." Oliver said.

"Well, we can just practice extra hard this practice." Katie said sympathetically.

"We're going to have to. I'm going down now to get ready, see you in a half hour." Oliver said, somewhat despondently.

Katie sighed, turning back to her charms textbook, which she had been reviewing from. She decided that studying was useless ten minutes later and went to go sit with Alicia.

"Practice is going to be brutal." Katie said, sitting down next to her and Lee.

"I heard Oliver yelling a minute ago, what's up?" Alicia asked.

"We're playing Hufflepuff, be prepared for hell." Katie said absently.

"Oh no." Alicia said, putting her head on the table. "I was thinking of bailing on practice, telling him I'd forgotten. I'd better not I suppose if he's going to be in a bad mood. He'd just take it out on me."

"Isn't it a good thing if you're playing Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin? It'll give you a leg up on the season." Lee said.

"Don't let Oliver hear you say that. It's exactly the kind of attitude we don't need, apparently. He seems to think we'll be over confident, and that Diggory has really turned the team around." Katie said morosely.

"Great." Lee said sarcastically, turning back to his transfiguration homework.

"Tell me about it." Katie said, also groaning. She slammed her head onto the table. "And don't any of you dare skive off, otherwise he'll take it out on the rest of us. We'd better get going, I do not want to cross him any more than absolutely necessary. He's going to be wound tighter than a top without us being late on top of it all."

"Good point." The others agreed.

Practice was awful. Oliver was just as bad as they had imagined, except crankier. He yelled at Harry when he suggested that it was a good thing that they had reorganized the schedule.

"That's exactly what they're expecting us to think!" Oliver ranted like it was all a maniacal scheme on the part of Slytherin to take over the world. "They're trying to wrong foot us, and we cannot let them! It's exactly the sort of thing they'd do to." Oliver continued. And then he was off. He snapped at George so loudly and severely that he fell of his broom into the mud.

On top of it all, the drizzle that had started earlier was now a full blown storm. Katie crossed her fingers that it would let up by tomorrow, because she could barely see the bright red quaffle, and she doubted that Harry was having a better time seeing the snitch. Oliver was grumpy, the practice had been a flop. They hadn't made any progress whatsoever.

Katie had dried off from the steaming shower and had just changed into her normal robes when she heard a pounding, followed by restless pacing from the other end of the locker room.

"Katie!" Oliver exclaimed when she peeked around the lockers to find him. Had he been waiting for her? she wondered. She hoped he had. Her heart gave a little thrill at the very idea of it.

"Oliver? What are you doing? I thought I was alone here." Katie suggested.

"I was waiting for you. I was wondering..." He trailed off.

Was he finally going to ask her out? Was he going to tell her that he felt the same way she did, and sweep her off her feet, and then they would gallop off into the sunset? She began to imagine it now, Oliver in his shining armor, her in a flowing pink dress, riding together on his white stallion.

"Katie?" Oliver said. She jerked back to reality. "Earth to Katie." Oliver said, waving a hand enthusiastically in front of her face. "Tell me honestly, what do you think?"

"About what?" Katie asked, dazedly.

"About the block! You know, when Angelina came from the left and I went right with that inverted roll thing. Was that too show-offy?" He asked earnestly.

"Huh?"

"Was it too show-offy." He persisted. "You're the only one I can trust to tell me the truth." Oliver told her.

"Honestly, Oliver, I don't see that it really matters all that much." Katie told him. What was he talking about? Inverted rolls? She had never even noticed him doing anything of the sort.

"What do you mean not important?? Doesn't matter? Of course it matters! Come on Katie! That could be the difference between the quiddich cup and nothing! No one remembers the guy who came in second!" Oliver went off into a tirade and Katie felt her attention shifting. Her eyes glazed over. So much for her knight in shining armor, once again "Katie? Are you even listening? You're such a dreamer Katie. Come on, we'll miss dinner if we don't hurry." Oliver told her, sighing.

He looked at her sideways, giving her his disappointed look. Oliver's disappointed look was enough to make Katie feel six years old again. His hair drooped and the corners of his mouth went down. Worst of all were his eyes. They went all sad, and calm. Like an 'I pity you for being so stupid, too bad you aren't nearly as perfect as me' look. Katie sighed.

"Now you're mad at me. Look, Oliver, I didn't even notice it. I don't think it's that big of a deal. You asked me to be honest? Here's honest, the game is not going to change because of ten points, and if it does, then it's because we weren't playing well anyway. Harry catching the snitch is the important thing okay? If he misses it, it's over, no matter how many times you block the quaffle. It all comes down to Harry and Cedric." Katie told him.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Oliver said, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He looked disgruntled and agitated.

"I don't mean to offend you, Ollie, I just thought you wanted me to be honest." Katie said.

"Now you're mad at me! Don't give me that disappointed look!" Oliver said, after looking at her again.

"I don't have a disappointed look." Katie said, surprised.

"Of course you do! It's enough to make me want to crawl into a corner and rot. You make me feel so small Katie. I probably deserve it, of course. I don't mean to take it out on you. You just always listen. You're the only one who will still be my friend if I do go off on you occasionally." Oliver told her.

"Well, that'll all stop if you don't cut it out. I don't mind every once in a while, but every day, Oliver? Honestly, either find someone else to listen or stop taking it out on anyone. That or stop being so sensitive to everything." Katie told him, only half jokingly.

"I am not sensitive." Oliver informed her. Katie narrowed her eyes as he started to open his mouth to argue with her. "And speaking of finding someone to listen, remember Margaret?" Oliver asked.

"Of course I do. How could I forget?" Katie said, trying to force all bitterness and jealousy out of her voice.

"Well, I asked her out." Oliver said proudly.

"And?" Katie asked, already knowing the answer. He wouldn't have brought it up if she had rejected him. He was too proud for that. And no one in their right mind would say no to Oliver.

"She said yes. We're going to Hogsmede together on the first weekend." Oliver told her happily.

"That's great Oliver." Katie said, trying to sound sincere. They had reached the dining hall in time to get the last of dinner before the plates cleared. They didn't talk much. Katie did not really trust herself to speak. If he mentioned Margaret, she did not think she would be able to handle it. And if he said another word about quiddich, she might just go and do that crawling in a corner and rotting that he had mentioned.

Katie slept poorly. She had dreams about Oliver and Margaret. In her dream she was waiting in her tower to be rescued, and Oliver came riding up. He entered the tower, and Katie waited expectantly. He did not come. Instead he rode of into the sunset with a beautiful Margaret in his arms.

Katie woke up sweating. _You have really got to come off this knight in shining armor thing _she scolded herself. _It's not realistic, and it's so juvenile. Why do you let mom get you those princess books? She never should have read them to you when you were younger, _Katie beratted herself.

The day of the game was just as miserable as the previous practice. Worse in fact, The torches in the corridors had to be lit. It did not help her somewhat sour mood that Slytherins kept making snide comments about how they were glad they weren't playing in this weather. There was one all out brawl between a Gryfindor third year and a Slytherin fourth year.

As she passed Cedric Diggory in the hall, however, he smiled courteously at her. He came running over to her, for the sole purpose of opening a door for her. She smiled at him.

"Thank you." Katie said.

"No problem." Cedric said, looking away shyly. He was very quiet. And also very handsome, Katie noticed. Maybe she should start moving on from Oliver. He was obviously seeing someone else, so why shouldn't she?

Not Cedric, most likely. He was very well liked by girls at Hogwarts. Cho Chang, for one, had her eye on him. But someone. Anyone really. Just to prove to herself that she could live without Oliver.

"Good luck in the match today, Katie. I know you'll do great," Cedric almost whispered. He walked away before she had a chance to respond. Weird. Thought Katie to herself.

She shrugged it off, walking down the hall. For the rest of the day before the match she sub-consciously looked around for any guys she would date. Anyone would do, really. She just needed to prove once and for all that she didn't need Oliver.

She didn't exactly know who she was proving it to, herself mostly. Maybe a tiny part of her wanted to make Oliver jealous, but only a very small part. At least that's what she told herself. Another half of her knew that it would be an effort to make him jealous, although she knew deep down the Oliver wouldn't get jealous. He considered her a friend and nothing more.

The time of the game approached. Oliver was pacing like a caged tiger. He looked outside and saw the trees shaking from the wind.

"We'll be blown off our brooms." Katie heard him mutter under his breath. "Team!" He yelled.

Those stragglers who had not yet gathered by the door now came rushing with their brooms to exit together. Oliver began to lecture the team about strategy when a third year who was a friend of Harry's who Katie recognized well as Hermione Granger (she was infamous for her buck teeth, bushy hair, and brains) came rushing over to the group.

Katie, from her position in the circle, could not see what exactly she did, but she saw sparks fly from her wand. She heard Oliver faintly thanking her, his normally thundering voice was carried away by the wind.

"Harry, get that snitch. You have to get that snitch, Harry! It's all down to you!" Katie heard Oliver boom. She slapped her forehead. She could have kicked herself. Why had she had to go and say that to Oliver right before a game? That was so foolish of her.

"Oliver, don't put so much pressure on him! it's just a game Harry." Angelina said reproachfully.

"Harry, get that snitch or die trying." Oliver told him severely.

"No pressure though, mate." Fred told him cheerfully. He seemed always to be in good spirits, be it right before a game or during an exam, or while he was in detention.

George and him cracked identical grins as they patted Harry on the back before mounting their own brooms. Madame Hooch blew the whistle, although it was barely audible over the winds.

Katie could hardly make out the Hufflepuff team, though they were a mere ten feet apart. It was so dark already. She did, however, notice Cedric, and he was looking at her as well. He smiled. She smiled back. Was there something going on here that Katie was unaware of? Maybe he was interested in her. Katie could have kicked herself for being so cocky immediately after thinking that. Of course he wasn't interested in her. He could have whoever he wanted, he was smart, handsome, athletic, kind, polite, why would he be interested in her? She was no one. Katie looked away, blushing, and kicked off into the air.

Was it just her or did Cedric accidentally bump into her because he couldn't see where he was going an excessive amount? And was it just her or was he always staring at her whenever she looked? To be fair, she was looking more often than necessary. In addition to finding him attractive on his own merits, she also had the creeping suspicion that there was some potential to make Oliver see what he was missing here. Maybe Diggory would ask her out. That would show Oliver that she was, in fact, more than just friend material. It was perfect. She did feel bad that she was thinking of using someone like this, but what else could she do? She was in love, and not with Cedric.

She caught the quaffle again and charged the goal posts. She scored another ten points for her team, although it was by a narrow margin. She could not hear Lee's commentary over the wind, nor could she hear the crowd cheering. She doubted that they even knew what had happened. She was surprised that there even was a crowd, what with the awful weather.

Katie looked up at the sound of Alicia's scream. Harry had fallen from his broom and was plummeting towards the ground. From what Katie could see, his broom had been swept away. She could see it drifting towards the forbidden forest now. She gasped, horrified. Cedric had not noticed, however, and kept racing to the snitch, which he had evidently spotted. Katie held her breath as she saw Dumbledore racing onto the field, and looked back up to see Cedric's fist close around the snitch.

Katie dove to the ground and ran to Harry, leaving her broom where she had landed. Oliver was already there.

"What's happened?" Asked Cedric, landing gracefully beside Katie. Oliver glared at him. The wings of the snitch were still visible in his grip.

"He's fallen." Gasped Katie, out of breath. She saw Cedric glance bashfully at the snitch in his hand.

"Let's stop the game and have a re match when the conditions are better." He offered. "This wasn't fair, you would have won if he hadn't fallen." Katie could tell from the look on Oliver's face that he agreed with the last part of the statement.

"Of course there wont be a rematch!" Madame Hootch exclaimed. "Hufflepuff won fair and square. Clear off, you lot. This boy is going up to the hospital wing."

**Authors Note: How sad is that? Now Oliver is mad at Cedric, who we're sensing could possibly have a thing for Katie. Why, you ask, does Cedric have a thing for Katie?**

**Go ahead, ask it!**

**"Why?" Chorused the readers, hanging on her every word. (haha im too cool for words n'est-ce pas?)Could he have ulterior motives? Gee I don't know. You'll just have to find out. Meanwhile, what'll Oliver do, all sad that he's lost the game, and to him all hope of his last shot at the cup? Who'll be the girl orgirls involved with his sadness?**

**Anyway, I fyou want to find outt he answers to all these very good questions, you'll have to wait a few chapters! Haha. I am, however, starting to spead up my posting now that homework is slowing down a little. And I just had a jolly long vacation to type things during. So review and you'll find out what's happening soon enough! Ps. the next chapter is super intense. Just as a teaser, it's called kisses...haha don't hate me too much!!**


	4. Kisses

**Authors Note: Hey, somehow the chapters got messed up, so if this all sounds familiar to you, it's because I think the first half was already posted. So just skip to the end and there should be new stuff there. This is a really long chapter, it's 17 pages on my word...so enjoy. The one after this is better though...so get excited. Haha.**

Chapter 4

Kissing

Katie walked into the locker room. The rest of the team except Oliver had gone to the hospital wing, without even changing or showering, to wait for Harry to come round. Katie had elected to go prevent Oliver from killing himself. She did not find him in the locker room immediately. She wondered where else he would have gone. Rather than wait around looking a mess, she took a hot shower.

She couldn't deny her disappointment in the outcome of the game. She was upset, of course, but her feelings would be nothing compared to those of Oliver's. This was his last shot to win the cup. It was hers too, of course, but she did not have as much invested in this victory as he did.

As she pulled her robes over her head she heard someone enter the locker room. She came out of the girls half and saw Oliver, still covered in mud, looking lost. His face had mud on it, and his hair was sweaty. Katie didn't care, she found him just as attractive as the day she had first noticed him.

"Oliver." She started. He looked up, appearing sad. "You played really well, don't worry about the match. We still have a chance to win. If Slytherin beats Hufflepuff and then lose to Ravenclaw, and then we beat Ravenclaw, then we'll have a shot at the cup. A really good shot, actually." Katie told him encouragingly.

"It's not that." He admitted. Katie almost dropped to the floor in shock, for once Oliver was thinking of something other than Quiddich.

"Then what is it?" Katie asked curiously.

"Margaret just dumped me." Oliver told her. Katie knew she should feel sad, but she couldn't stop her heart from soaring at this news.

"What? Why? How can she dump you if you haven't even been on a date?" Katie asked, doing her best impression of outrage.

"That's what I asked her." Oliver said glumly. "She said, and I quote, 'I only date winners, Oliver. You should know that.'"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katie asked, now actually outraged. But only slightly.

"I have no idea. I suppose she meant quiddich. She only thinks I'm cool while I'm a winner." Oliver told her, looking depressed.

"Well then she's really shallow and doesn't deserve you anyway." Katie told him.

"I guess. Maybe she's right though. What if I'm just a loser?" Oliver said.

"Oliver, you're not a loser. I don't think you're a loser at all. You're my best friend, and I think you're just great. You're smart, you work hard, you're friendly, kind, considerate, motivated, and really really cute, and sweet…" Katie stopped herself, blushing hotly. She had gotten really carried away there.

Oliver looked surprised at her outburst as well. Katie was about to apologize and leave when he did something most unexpected.

He leaned forward and kissed her, full on the mouth. His lips were soft and firm at the same time. She felt the sweat in his hair and the dirt on his face as he grabbed her back to support her. The walked backwards until she was leaning against a locker. It felt cold against her back, but she didn't care. She ran her fingers through his sweaty, dirty, rain soaked hair as they kissed.

It was everything that she had thought it would be and more. She felt herself exploding in his arms as she leaned into him, deepening the kiss. He kissed her harder, more roughly. Her tongue had just started to fully explore his mouth when he pulled back for breath.

"Katie I-" Oliver started. She pulled back, looking at him puzzled. "Katie, we-" He stopped again. "We shouldn't be doing this. This is a mistake. That was a mistake. We're friends, you're my best friend, I don't want to ruin that. I'm really sorry, I just got carried away." Oliver said.

"No, Oliver, I'm sorry. For being such a fool. I can't believe myself. What am I thinking?" Katie said, turning and running as fast as she could out of the locker room.

"Katie! Wait!" Oliver called after her. She didn't stop, and he did not run after her.

When she got outside she stopped, leaning against the side of the building to catch her breath. It was not the running that had made her lose her breath, it was the kissing. Her first kiss. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting the rain fall onto her face. How could she have been so stupid? Of course Oliver did not care about her. He thought of her as a friend and nothing more. Now she had ruined that friendship beyond repair. Maybe she should resign from quiddich.

She pounded her fist against the wall of the building. Why had she done that? Why had she said that? She wasn't ready for him to know, and he had just broken up with Margaret. He was on the rebound. Did it really apply though if they hadn't gone out, or done anything? They had only dated for a day after all, Katie told herself. But she thought it still counted as a rebound, since he had liked her for a while, and he felt the same way about her as he would have had they actually been going out. So she had been his rebound girl.

It had been a really nice kiss though. Katie thought as she started to walk back to the castle. At least she thought it had been. She didn't really have anything to compare it to, but still. She rubbed her lips. There was dirt on her cheek. She would probably have to wash again, as she was now soaked by the rain and covered in dirt again. Her robes would need to be washed. It was amazing how muddy the grounds could get from one storm.

When she got into the castle she saw Cedric standing the entrance way, waiting for someone, apparently. He was standing alone, fidgeting nervously. He looked up as she entered and walked over to her.

"Katie, hi." He said awkwardly.

"Hey Cedric." Katie said confused.

"Well. I wanted to apologize actually. For the game. I feel rather responsible for Harry's falling."

"Don't be silly, Cedric. It wasn't you fault. Unless, you didn't push him did you?" She asked worriedly.  
"Of course not! No, I just feel as if Gryfindor ought to have won is all. Well, that's all I wanted to say." He concluded lamely.

"Were you waiting down here for me?" Katie asked. She had been on the point of walking away, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her.  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was." Cedric told her.

"Oh." Katie said. She did not really know how to respond to that. What was going on? Cedric and her had just had a longer conversation now than they had in the past seven years at Hogwarts combined, and it hadn't even been a long conversation. She started to walk up the marble staircase to Gryfindor tower when he called to her again.

"Hey Katie?"  
"Yes?" She replied, turning slightly so she could see him.

"Will you go out with me?" Cedric asked.

"Out where? Outside? In this weather? I should think not, I've just come in and it's dreadfully cold and-"

"No not outside." He said, cutting her off.  
"Oh." Katie said, confused.

"Will you be my girlfried?" He asked her.

"Oh!" Katie said, comprehension dawning on her slowly. "Oh." Katie said again. She did not really know what to say. She didn't really know Cedric very well, but then again that was the point of going out wasn't it? To get to know thee other person. But why on earth would Cedric be asking her out? That seemed dreadfully sudden. "Ok." She said, making up her mind. She had seen Oliver through one of the windows and had him in mind as she said yes.

"Ok?" Cedric asked, apparently surprised.

"Yeah, sure." Katie said. She was not too enthusiastic. She still did not understand why he was asking her out. She had never been asked out before.  
"Ok, well I guess I'll see you around." Cedric said, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Yeah, well, I have to go." Katie said, hurrying away. She rushed up to Gryfindor tower.

She did not understand anything that was going on right now. She just wanted to relax in front of the fire and sleep. This was so bizarre, why would Cedric ask her out? Why would Oliver kiss her? What was she going to do about it?

"Katie?" It was a little later. Katie did not know exactly how much time had passed. The fire a dying and the common room was emptying slowly. She realized immediately that she had dozed off, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. Then it all came rushing back, the confusion, Oliver's lips. She looked up sharply, almost having forgotten about the person who had said her name.

"Yes?" Then she located the speaker. It was Oliver. He was standing next to her chair, shuffling back and forth. He seemed to find his shoes exceedingly interesting. "Oh. It's you. Look, much as I want to do this I'm going to bed." Katie said coldly. She was mad at him. She couldn't help feeling bitter and rejected. He didn't want her, so what? That was his right. He didn't have to want her.

"Look, Katie wait." Oliver said, looking up as she was about to stand. She ignored him, turning away. She knew that if she met his eyes she would not be able to tear herself away. She knew that she would see sorrow and remorse in his eyes. The only thing he regretted was losing a sympathetic listener.

"I'm tired of waiting Oliver." Katie said. She regretted it the moment the words crossed her lips. She could not believe she had said that. There was no way he could fail to pick up on the message behind that statement.

"Katie I'm sorry, okay? I take it back, I'm not sorry for kissing you. It wasn't a mistake. I was just surprised is all." He told her, looking hopeful. She sank back into her chair. What had she done? He wasn't sorry? What did that mean? What was he saying?

"What?" She said, voicing her confusion.

"I want to do this. To do us. You know, the whole you and me thing. I like you Katie, as more than a friend. It was just so fast I didn't know what we were doing. I thought you would be angry with me." Oliver told her.

"Oliver-"

"Look, Katie, say you'll give me a chance. Just one date is all. I promise, you won't be sorry" he tempted her.

"Oliver I really wish I could." Katie told him regretfully.

"But?" He proded.

"But I can't" she explained lamely.

"Why not?" Oliver asked, looking shocked.

"Because I have a boyfriend." Katie told him. He stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"What? Who?' He asked, recovering. He looked as if he had just been slapped.

"Cedric Diggory. He asked me out right when I got back up to the castle. He was waiting for me." Katie said, also feeling very sad and disturbed. "Oh this isn't how it was supposed to happen!" She cried out, flying up to the girl's dormitory in tears.

"What's up girl?" Asked Alicia, sitting on Angelina's bed playing a round of exploding snap.  
"Oliver broke up with Margaret." Katie told them, blubbering.

"And why is that bad?" Alicia asked, looking at Angelina. "I thought you had this huge thing for him."  
"How do you know that?" Katie demanded horrified.

"So obvious hun." Angelina informed her.

"Oh. Well it's bad because he was really upset, and then he kissed me." Katie explained, looking up through blurry eyes.

"And? That's good isn't it?" Alicia asked, still puzzled. Angelina just looked as if she wanted someone to explain it to her in small words because she would never understand if she just took guesses.

"Would be, only then he pulled back and was all 'sorry, that was a mistake.'" Katie said, making her voice lower and very snide, doing an imitation of a very obnoxious Oliver.

"Oh. Uh-oh." Angelina said with a sigh. "Well-"

"And it would be fine if that were all!" Katie said, cutting in before she could hear all the sympathizing.

"There's more?" Asked Alicia. "How come your life is so interesting?"

"Yes, there's more. And it's not interesting. I'm fortunes fool. I came back to the castle and Diggory was waiting for me." Katie continued. She was calmer now. She was no longer crying, but telling her story slowly and clearly, with occasional gesticulations for good measure.

"Why?" Angelina asked, clearly not grasping the connection.

"He asked me out." Katie said. This statement met a dumbfounded silence.  
"Like, on a date?" Alicia asked.

"As in, you're an item now?" Angelina repeated.

"I suppose so." Katie said.

"Why did you say yes if you're hooked on Oliver?" Angelina queried.

"To make him jealous, obviously Ange. You are too thick sometimes." Alicia said, rolling her eyes.

"Well that's good then, right? Oliver will realize his mistake and come crawling back. It's only a matter of time really." Angelina said, brightening.

"Too late," Katie informed them morosely.

"I'm sure he'll get over it Katie, honestly-" Angelina started.

"Ange, come on! Too late as in he's already realized and now Katie's stuck with Cedric!" Alicia interjected.

"Oh." Angelina said, stopping mid ramble. "Well, that does pose a slight problem I suppose. You could just dump Cedric and then tell Oliver that you love him and want to jump his-"  
"No Angelina. That would be so cruel to Cedric! Besides, I already told Oliver that I was seeing him now. He won't forgive me in a hurry." Katie said, bound and determined to be depressed and gloomy.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you then. I could always dig up some dirt on Cedric and give you a reason to dump him. That way you two would be done and then you can be single. You don't have to run back to Oliver, you could just hold tight and see what he does. What's the worst that could happen? You go back to being the way you were this afternoon?" Angelina suggested.

"You know Ange, that's not a dismal idea. You might be on to something." Alicia agreed.

"One problem guys." Katie told them. "You have no dirt on Cedric. He's as close to perfect as possible." Usually this would be a compliment, but in this case it was the worst possible thing.

"You leave that to us. You forget who we're dating." Alicia told her. The two burst out into grins that were so similar to those of Fred and George that it was almost scary. Katie sighed, sinking into her cushions. She would deal with it some other time. In the meantime she would just enjoy having a boyfriend. It was bound to be fun, especially sine hers was so popular and perfect. Maybe Cedric wouldn't be so bad. If she couldn't have Oliver then he was a more than an adequate substitute. She sighed at the thought of being with Cedric rather than Oliver.

If she couldn't have Oliver, then there would be no substitute. She could become a nun, or just an old maid, but if it wasn't going to be Oliver, then it wasn't going to be anyone.

The next morning she rose, trying to think positive thoughts. This should have been easy, as Katie was definitely a "the glass is half full" type of person, but lately she had become more and more pessimistic.

Oliver was probably over his disappointment by now, and much as she wanted him to reciprocate her love for him, she also wanted him to be happy. She knew Oliver, and he wouldn't be happy until he had what he wanted, so the only way for him to be happy right now was for him to want something other than her.

"Morning Bella. Beautiful, beautiful Katie Bella." Oliver said quietly and in a tone that was enough to make her heart flutter with anticipation. Here he was, sitting in his usual seat at the Gryfindor table with his shaggy hair. She remembered what it felt like to run her fingers through that hair. She tried to draw her attention away from that and instead started at his eyes, but that was worse still.

She couldn't look at him without thinking of that scene in the locker room. How could she have been so fool hardy? She had ruined their friendship, that was for sure. Now Oliver, having decided finally after all of these years that he wanted to be more than friends, was going to make things difficult for her. He would not move on, she could see it in the stubborn set of is jaw. And he was going to make it impossible for her to move on, she could see that in the soft expression of tenderness in his eyes. There was something different about him. Desire. That was what it was that was new, he no longer looked at her as a kid sister.

Katie looked determinedly away, scanning the crowd for Cedric to draw her attention away from Oliver. It wasn't working.

She saw Cedric, surrounded by swarms of flirting girls, and it did nothing to her. She did not feel jealous, she really did not feel much of anything.

What was she doing? Why was she such a girl? She should never have started playing this jealousy game to begin with, it wasn't her. She realized just how not her it was by the end of the day. Girls she didn't know and had never so much as spoken to were shooting her evil glares. She could only assume that it was because she was now dating Cedric.

The other thing, and this was what made it the worst, was Oliver. He sat next to her in every class they had together, and he always made sure to walk next to her to class. He kept telling her how beautiful she was, and how smart she was. She felt herself blushing constantly every time he looked at her.

"Is it because he's a winner and I'm not?" He asked her suddenly during history of magic. She looked at him aghast.

"Oliver, of course not! How can you ask that? How can you think that? You know I'm not like that." She replied, a combination of shocked, ashamed, horrified, and hurt.

"Well, he is the winner, and it's clear I'm the loser. And not just in quiddich. He won the match and your favor, both out from under my nose, and both in the same day." He said, gloomily.

"Oliver, that's not fair. Don't be so hard on yourself. You're not a loser!" Katie assured him. He did not respond, he just looked away and began taking notes feverishly.

He had replaced his old name for her (Katie) with a new nickname that he had apparently just invented and found very clever. He referred to her as Bella every time he got a chance. Katie found his lack of subtly flattering, but at the same time unnecessary and annoying. She wished he would give it a rest. It reached a point when she didn't know if he was making fun of her or not.

"Katie, we have it! This is exactly what you need!" Angelina said excitedly, coming up to Katie in the library. She had had to take refuge in the library. She needed to escape the common room where Oliver was showering her with praise and flattery. At least if he followed her to the library he would have to be quiet. To be sure it was more comfortable in front of the fire, but it was impossible to handle Oliver telling her how nice she looked, and how good she was at Quiddich. It was just her luck that just as soon as she decided to try to make him jealous, he decided that he liked her.

'Well, serves me right for playing these games with his head and my heart…' thought Katie with a sigh.

"What?" Katie asked out loud, somewhat hopefully, looking up from her books. The day had been hard and long, it was tough resisting the charms of Oliver Wood. She had never suffered the full impact of him. He had never been paying her any mind until today, so she had never needed to resist him. Now, after all these years, it was all she could do to keep from slamming him against a wall and kissing his head off.

"About Cedric!" Hissed Alicia excitedly, signaling for her to come over to where she and Angelina were standing.

"What about him?" Katie asked skeptically, not moving from her seat. She found it hard to believe that he was anything less than perfect. If it weren't for Oliver, he would definitely be her first choice of boyfriends. From the little she knew of him, mostly through rumors and stories she had heard about him, he was honorable and kind and gentle and smart and hardworking. Everything that anyone would ever desire in a boyfriend. And yet Katie was, obviously, not everyone. Or anyone for that matter. Because every time she looked at him all she saw was Oliver's face in the window. She remembered it so vividly.

She had seen him walking back from the quiddich pitch looking dejected and sad. That was why she had said yes to Cedric, more than anything else. She had wanted to make him regret what he had said. 'Well Katie, who's the one regretting it now?' She asked herself angrily. She had been so foolish! Why couldn't she have just told Cedric she liked someone else? Then everything would have worked out perfectly.

"Follow us. We'll show you exactly what it is you need to dump him." Angelina told her. Jerking back from her vision Katie registered what Angelina had said. Dump Oliver? No, she was talking about Cedric, of course. Cedric was the one she was dating. Cedric was the one she should dump. Naturally.

But what did she need to dump him? Something about information? What were they going on about? Katie rose reluctantly and followed her out of the library. There would be no answers from either of them if they had decided to make it a surprise. And apparently they had.

Alicia especially loved surprises. Well that wasn't entirely true. She hated being surprised, but she loved being privy to secrets that others weren't. She loved knowing things. Anything really, as long as it was a secret. So she always wanted to draw the suspense on for as long as possible. That was what made her such a good friend, she always kept secrets. But on the other hand you never knew when she was keeping one from you either, which was sometimes annoying. But Katie, not being prone to gossip herself, did not really mind.

This was another thing. As soon as Alicia thought you didn't care, she would want to spit it right out. So Katie knew all the secrets of everyone, but never told because she wasn't interested. Half the time she didn't even know what Alicia was going on about.

"Where are we going?" She asked as they emerged onto the grounds.

"Behind the herbology building. Greenhouse three. You'll see." Angelina told her, tugging at her cloak impatiently, urging her to hurry up. They rounded the corner of the building and Katie stopped, horrified and yet oddly pleased.

She saw Cho Chang and Cedric making out against the wall. It was an odd sensation. She knew she should be mad, but she really didn't care. She knew that Cedric and Cho had had a thing going for a while, thanks to Alicia's reports.

It was so strangely coincidental that everything was starting to happen to her now. Why did she have to get caught up in the middle of everything so suddenly? It would have been enough just dealing with Oliver, but now she had this too.

She was glad for Cedric though. She had known that he didn't like her. Him liking her had never made sense to her, he was too perfect. But he and Cho were good together. She was pretty perfect herself, and they had similar interests.

She must have made some kind of noise because Cedric looked up from Cho. He saw Katie standing there staring and immediately straightened, walking towards her.

She saw him motion to Cho to wait for a few seconds and then started to run over to her, as if he thought she would turn and run. Maybe she should have done. It would have made the whole thing more dramatic. But then he would have followed and seen Alicia and Angelina hiding behind the wall only a few feet behind her, if that, and that would not have been good. It would have made everything that much more awkward.

"Katie, I'm really sorry that you saw that. This isn't the way I would have chosen for you to find out." He told her. Katie was impressed, a true gentleman! He wasn't telling her that what she had seen wasn't actually what had happened. She didn't really have much experience with guys in the real world, all she knew was what she read in her romance novels. She couldn't even live vicariously through her friends, as they had only ever dated the same boys their entire time at Hogwarts (Fred and George). So she just stood in front of him, waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, but I was only using you to make Cho jealous. I'm really sorry Katie." He told her, looking embarrassed. He obviously felt guilty.

"Oliver, it's really okay." She told him.

"Oliver?" Cedric asked. Katie slapped a hand over her mouth, humiliated. She could not believe she had said that. He would think she had been cheating on him too! But then again, he wouldn't really be able to be that mad. Why had she said Oliver? Why was he constantly invading her thoughts?

"Cedric. I meant Cedric. I knew you couldn't really like me, we haven't even spoken to each other for ages. How could you like me? I assumed something was up. It's really okay, _Cedric. _I'm just glad it worked is all." She said, emphasizing his name. "I really don't care, you're free to go, I think Cho's waiting." She told him. She saw that he looked surprised, but pleased.

"You know Katie, if I weren't completely smitten with Cho, I would totally go for you." He told her, looking at her with a new expression in his face. A more calculating expression.

"Really?" Katie said, taken aback.

"Definitely. You're a great girl, really understanding and not too melodramatic like some girls. Thanks for understanding." She was about to leave them to it when he called her back. "Katie, I feel bad asking you this, but would you mind not spreading this around school?" He asked, looking abashed again. "I mean, as the injured party you have every right to, and I'm sure you'll want to tell everyone what happened and everything…" Katie laughed out loud for the first time that day.

"Of course I won't, what do you take me for?" She said, leaving finally. Cedric smiled at her, they understood each other perfectly. Katie wondered if he had guessed that she didn't really like him. Maybe he would guess that she liked Oliver. Should she have acted more upset? But no, she had had her fair share of games for a good while. He and Cho deserved each other. They were together at last, after having gone in circles for years. Now Katie had to wait and see if she could get the same.

She didn't know if she really deserved Oliver after this. She felt so low, so shallow. She didn't want to think about the way she had acted. She was so self degrading, stooping to that level. Maybe, since she had already started to play this game anyway, she wouldn't mention her breakup with Cedric. That was pure genius! She told herself congratulating herself for the stroke of brilliance. She wouldn't say anything. That way she would be keeping her promise and she could still see how Oliver felt about her. It would be amazing.

Remembering a moment too late her recent promise to herself not to play games, she questioned the actual brilliance of the plan. Shrugging it off she wrote it off, convincing herself that it wasn't so bad because she had already started. She always finished what she started. It would be wrong not to, she reasoned. Newly enthused, she walked back up to the castle.

She met Angelina and Alicia halfway there. They had been 'leaving' so that she could confront Cedric, although Katie knew they had probably waited, listened to the conversation. and then sprinted. They were looking a little flushed.

"So, what did he say?" Alicia asked, as if she had not just heard every word.

"Just that he thought I was a great girl and that he was sorry. He asked me not to talk about it though, so I'd appreciate it if you refrained from spreading it around, Angelina." Katie told them. Neither looked overly surprised at this compact version of the conversation.

"Why do you always say me? Alicia could spread it around just as much as I could." Whined Angelina.

"But she doesn't, you always blab. Don't go and tell George or Fred either, because they cannot keep their mouths shut. They, much like you Ange, have not mastered the art of subtlety." Angelina stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms irritably. She knew it was true though, so she didn't argue.

"Are you going to tell Oliver?" She asked slyly after a few moments.  
"Why would I?" Katie replied innocently.

"So that he'll ask you out of course!" Angelina said.

"I don't know, I think I'm over relationships for now. Too much drama, you know? There's too much happening lately, I can't handle that type of pressure. People always looking at you, as if you're somehow different because you have a boyfriend. It's so weird how much emphasis people put on relationships. My life does not revolve around guys, thank you very much. I have other things on my mind." Katie declared sanctimoniously.

"Yeah sure." Alicia said sarcastically.

"Like what?" Angelina demanded sharply.

"Like," Katie almost said 'Like my writing' but she refrained. Not even Angelina and Alicia would understand that. "Like my schoolwork." She finally decided.

"Okay Katie, you keep telling yourself that, but I just want to say, there's a reason people put so much emphasis on it." Alicia said. "But I will also add that I think this decision not to tell...brilliant. I mean, you have to play a little hard to get."

"Yeah." Angelina added, comprehension dawning on her face.

"Just don't say anything, Katie. Wait and see what he does." Alicia suggested, dropping the subject.

She always liked to have the last word, so Katie did not reply. If she responded Alicia would continue in this vein until she did stop.

There was another reason for Katie's silence as well. She was thinking over what it was Alicia had said. It was true that Katie had never been in a relationship, so she did not know if it was worth the drama or not. 'But still,' she told herself, 'it can't be all that and a bag of chips. There's no way that it's all it's cracked up to be.'

**Authors Note: Ok, next chapter title: A Severe Let Down...Get excited. If you want it sooner rather than later, push the little GO button and review it! You know I love you all and totally live for your reviews! **


	5. A Severe Let Down

**Authors Note: This chapter is less than half the length of the last one...maybe even a quarter...but it's still quality. Haha just kidding...well I dunno, I'll let you all be the judges of that. Review it and tell me what you think!**

Chapter 5

A Severe Let Down

"Hello Bella." Oliver greeted her cheerily, a week later. She was sitting in the common room reading a transfiguration assignment from the day before. "What's up?"

"Not much Ollie. How about you?" Katie replied hesitantly.

"Oh nothing really." He told her, looking at her anticipating something.

"Er...good day?" She asked.

"Now that I can see you? Its amazing." He told her, smiling cheekily. Even though that was the most often used line ever, it had special meaning between Katie and Oliver.

Flashback

Katie, a third year Gryfindor, was sitting in the common room late at night catching up on some reading. It was not school reading. Katie was embarrassed to admit it, but she had been staying with Alicia for a week the previous summer when she discovered muggle novels. Alicia had an astounding collection of them, and Katie devoured them. She loved reading about the tangled love lives of the heroes and heroines in the books, probably to supplement for her very obvious lack of one.

She heard the portrait hole open but did not look up. She did not know who was out at this hour and did not particularly care. She assumed that whoever it was would go straight up to bed.

"Hey Katie." Said an all too familiar voice. It had to be Oliver to catch her in this moment of naive girliness, didn't it?

"What were you doing out so late?" Katie asked, trying to distract him from the book in her hands which she could tell he was peering at curiously.

"I was with Jess, actually." Oliver said, blushing a little. In the glow of the firelight his eyes twinkled merrily, reflecting the glowing embers.

"Jess?" Katie repeated. She had had a thing for Oliver for a while, though he didn't know it.

"Yeah we were, er-"

"You don't have to tell me!" Katie said quickly, not wanting to hear about her best friend/love interests romantic carryings on with another girl. It was well enough in books, but not when it was real. Oliver laughed.

"You're so prude Katie." Oliver told her. Katie privately agreed, although there was another reason she did not want to hear about it. Ignoring the comment, she looked back to her book.

"Anyway, what are you doing up so late? That's not a school book."

"Oliver, just because you hate reading doesn't mean we all do. There is such a thing as a book that is non academic." Katie informed him, not looking up from the book.

"Let me see this." Oliver said, leaping to his feet and snatching her book before she could tuck it away. "What is this rubbish?" He asked disgusted, rifling through the pages.

"Don't lose my place." Katie requested, knowing she would never retrieve it from him. There was no point in trying.

"I got it." He told her. She saw that his finger was marking her spot. "What is this?" He asked, reading a passage.

"Muggle book." Katie admitted embarrassed.

"You actually read this garbage?" He asked her.

"Yes, I like it." She told him indignantly.

" 'Having fun baby?" she asked seductively. 'Now that I'm with you honey' he replied, sweeping her into his arms and-'" Oliver said, reading from a random passage.

"Stop that!" Katie said, catching him unawares and taking the book back. "You wouldn't understand. You have to read them." Katie told him, angry and embarrassed.

"Sorry Katie, I didn't mean to make fun. How can I make it up to you?" He asked her.

"Read the books." She said firmly. She kept a straight face as Oliver's face contorted.

"All right. And then you'll be my best friend again?" He asked her, wheedling.

"Then I'll be your best friend again." Katie agreed.

"So where are the books?" He asked.

"You'll read them?" She asked.

"Anything for you, baby." He said, employing the same tone he had used when quoting the book. Katie took the book and whacked him soundly until he begged forgiveness. She got him the books from her dormitory. Surprisingly enough he had actually read them too. And, although he had expressly forbidden Katie from telling anyone, he had actually enjoyed parts of them. The books particularly enjoyed using the term "now that you're here, baby." and "Now that I'm with you, baby" and all other variations of that. It had become something of an inside joke that Oliver and Katie sometimes shared since that night.

End Flashback

"Katie?" Oliver asked.

"Mm? Oh, sorry. What?" Katie said, jerked from her reverie.

"What are you thinking?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Just about those books. Remember in our third year?" She reminded him.

"That's what I was thinking of when I said it!" He told her excitedly. They shared a private laugh at the memory. "So…" He said after she had been quiet for a while. She had started to peruse her transfiguration reading again.

"Yes?" She asked, looking up.

"Nothing." He said quickly.

"Oh." Katie said, looking down again. This was the way things had always been between her and Oliver. Companionable, comfortable, friendly. And that was probably all they ever would be, but Katie supposed ruefully that that was better than nothing.

"Hogsmede weekend coming up soon." Oliver said casually, although inside his stomach was knotting up.

"Is there?" Katie asked absently, not really paying attention. Or at least pretending not to. Inside her attention had perked up and she was listening with every inch of her being.

"Yes. So…" Oliver started, trailing off. Katie closed her book, placing it beside her. It was obvious that Oliver wanted to say something. He had something on his mind, that was apparent enough, but he wasn't saying. He was fidgeting in a way only Oliver could, making him look shifty and guilty of something. It put Katie in mind of the way her younger brother looked when he had stolen her toy. Her brother was not yet at Hogwarts, as he was only ten. When she was his age and he was a baby, he would always take her ponies and hide them from her.

Katie smiled at the mental image of an infant Oliver playing with ponies.

"You'll be going with Cedric then?" He suggested.

"I don't know." Katie said, remembering her friends' advice. It was now the perfect opportunity to tell Oliver that she had broken up wit Cedric, but Alicia and Angelina's' voices kept playing in her head. 'Don't tell him, just wait and see what he does.' And so Katie waited, staring at him calmly. She did feel a nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her to end the games now, but another part of her loved playing.

"Oh." He said simply, still with a shifty expression on his face.

"Who are you going with?" She asked innocently, with all the airs of holding a regular conversation with a friend and not noticing anything amiss.

"I'm not sure. Maybe Fred and George, Angelina, Alicia, and Lee. You too if you'll come?" He said quickly, spitting it out at once. Katie subdued an almost irresistible urge to laugh. She always went to Hogsmede with her friends and yet Oliver was acting as if it would be something out of the ordinary. He was treating it like a big deal.

"I'm not sure. I'll probably see you guys there, it's not that big of a town, is it? Anyway, why wouldn't I want to come with you?" She asked, curiously.

"I thought- are we?- I don't know. No reason." Oliver stuttered, obviously confused. "So we aren't fighting then?" He asked.

"Fighting? Why would we be fighting?" Katie asked. "Oh, that. No, we're not fighting. You're still my best friend." Katie assured him, assuming he was referring to the constant comments he had been making, albeit all positive and flattering ones, that had annoyed her so for the past week.

The weekend of the Hogsmede visit had come. Although it was almost two weeks since she and Cedric had broken up, by some circumstance beyond Katie's control or understanding, Oliver had still not found out about it. Apparently they were really serious about keeping things under wraps.

"So, Katie, have you given any thought to coming to Hogsmede?" Oliver asked her as casually as possible the morning of the trip.  
"I don't know. I was thinking of maybe doing some homework." Katie said nonchalantly, feigning unconcern.

"Oh, please come Katie! It'll be really fun, I promise." Oliver told her coaxingly.  
"All right, I suppose I have all tomorrow and tonight to do my homework." Katie said, pretending to give in, although she had always been planning on going to Hogsmede.

The truth was she had almost finished her homework anyway.

"You won't regret it, I swear." Oliver assured her.  
"I never regret a moment spent with you, Oliver." Katie said under her breath, barely audible at all. He did not hear her over the buzz of the great hall, and she did not repeat herself.

"So, I'll meet you in the entrance hall in an hour, okay? I have to go now, but I'll see you soon." Oliver said, leaping to his feet and running out of the hall. Although Katie was puzzled, she did not really take much notice of Oliver's sudden disappearance.

Katie turned instead to Angelina, who was sitting on her other side, and engaged her in a conversation about their History of Magic report for professor Bins.

After finishing her breakfast a little while later, Katie left the great hall and went upstairs to change. She would need boots and a cloak to go into Hogsmede, as it was cold and looked like it was about to snow.

Katie, after having changed, went down to the entrance hall to wait for Oliver. Checking her time piece, she noticed that he was 15 minutes overdue. Most of the carriages had already left for Hogsmede. Katie was alone in the entrance hall, and feeling very much the fool. With a last glance around, Katie left, feeling hurt and let down. She was astonished, she could not believe that Oliver had stood her up. Had he insisted she come just for the sole purpose of hurting her? that seemed beyond Oliver, much more malicious that he was normally. But still, the circumstance did appear rather suspicious.

Katie walked back up the stairs to the common room, settling down to finish the charms homework. She was alone in the common room save for a few first and second years. The rest of the house had all gone out to Hogsmede. It was apparently a popular weekend to visit the village. Usually there were a few older students who stayed behind, but this time, what with the fine weather and the fact that it would be the last visit for a while until Christmas, everyone who could had gone.

Katie felt rather upset that she was all alone in the common room on such a perfect Hogsmede day while all of her friends were in Hogsmede. Katie could not help but think that Cedric probably would not have stood her up. He was too polite for that. But he was with Cho now, and they were most likely having a wonderful time in the village, holding hands, drinking butterbears, while she was alone in the common room doing charms homework.

She must be the biggest loser on the face of the earth. She had been looking forward to a pleasant afternoon with her friends. She had thought that things between her and Oliver had worked themselves out, but apparently they had not.

She finished her charms homework ten minutes later and was left with day stretching ahead of her with nothing to fill it. Her friends were all in Hogsmede, she had said she would wait for Oliver and meet them there, and she had finished her homework.

Making up her mind to go to Hogsmede alone and try to find her friends there, she made her way back to the entrance hall. She went outside into the courtyard just as a gust of wind came up. There were two carriages remaining, and Katie jumped into one of them.

The carriage, knowing somehow where it was meant to go, took her on the designated course to Hogsmede.

The mystery of the horseless carriages would never cease to amaze her. She had read books about headless horsemen, but never about horseless carriages. She wondered whether she would ever learn the answer. The carriage stopped and Katie jumped out, glancing back at the empty harness. She saw the carriage go to stand next to the others, and wondered for what felt like the millionth time if there was some invisible creature pulling it. Perhaps they could communicate with each other. Or maybe the carriages were alive.

Catching herself before she got too absorbed in her imaginings, she walked into the center of town. As the wind picked up again she wrapped the cloak tighter around her thin shoulders. Her hair whipped her face painfully.

Squinting and shivering, she looked around. The streets were deserted. Everyone had more sense than to be outside. The day was not nearly as fine as it had appeared from the Gryfindor common room. But then again, the grass was always greener on the other side. Katie found herself thinking that perhaps she should have stayed behind.

Reaching the Three Broomsticks, Katie pushed open the door. The room was crowded with Hogwarts students sitting around and talking. Katie, after a cursory glance around the room, established that her friends were either not here, or had found an isolated table.

She went to the bar and bought a butterbear, gripping the steaming mug to let it warm her hands. Now that she was warmer she looked around again, examining the occupants of each table more thoroughly.

At last, in a table half concealed with shadows, she found her friends. There was Angelina, Fred, George, Alicia, Lee, and, Katie could not believe her eyes, Oliver. She had in the back of her mind thought that perhaps he had a good reason for having stood her up. Such as perhaps he had been stopped by a professor and been asked to do something that he could not avoid. But here he was, laughing and chatting and having a grand old time, without her.


	6. Together at Last?

**Authors Note: I know everyone is psyched for this chappie...i warn you, there is a lot of cliche, fluffy, romantic crap. i love writing it, but if youare a critic of that type of thing and are looking for angst...go read a story thatsays angst in the desription because this is not it. Haha, anyway R&R.**

Chapter 6

Together at Last?

Katie, fuming, approached the table and did something very out of character for her.

"Hi, friends." She said, slamming the mug on the table more firmly than she would have otherwise. She was not only mad at Oliver, why had her other friends, when Oliver arrived without her, not mentioned something? Had they not noticed her absence?

"Hey Katie!" Said Lee.

"Is everyone having a good time?" Her voice as odd, even to herself. It was loud and forced and angry, something very unusual for Katie who normally had a very reserved personality and rarely yelled. She often thought that she should have been a Hufflepuff.

"Yeah, why?" Asked Alicia curiously. Angelina looked nervous and slightly scared. Lee looked confused, Fred and George looked surprised, and Oliver was not looking.

"Why don't you ask Oliver why I ask?" Katie suggested mildly. Although it was not mildly, because she was still shouting.

Her voice had grown more shrill and she was fuming. She felt the blood rising to her face. She felt that her indignation was very justified, however. He had ditched her! And apparently not even told the others that he had done so.

"Oliver?" Asked Alicia, turning to him. She did not like being left out of the loop, and she was not her usual sunny self if she was confused for long. Someone had best to start explaining or she would become very irritable, and then everyone would suffer her wrath. "Well.…" He started, trailing off. He looked guilty, although no one knew what of.

"Start talking. And make it quick." Alicia ordered, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Oliver did not respond at once.

"Katie?" Demanded Alicia.

"He said he would meet me in the great hall, didn't you Oliver?" She accused. "And then he never showed up. I thought something had happened to him. I stood there waiting, like a fool, for fifteen minutes. Then I went to the common room to find him. He wasn't there either, though. Were you Oliver? Can you tell everyone where you were?" Katie said, her voice rising with every angry syllable.

"I was here." He said sadly, hanging his head slightly. "But it was your fault!" He said, looking up again after a moment, meeting her eyes defiantly.

"How is this my fault?!" Katie shrieked. She saw that the room had grown silent, and that people were staring. Everyone was listening to what she said. "You know what Oliver? Don't even talk to me. I don't care what you think I did." She informed him, emptying the contents of her mug onto his head.

She then marched out of the room and bursting through the door, after first throwing her mug on the floor. She heard the room grow loud again, and thought she heard people whispering things like 'spaz.' But Katie did not care. She was madder than she had ever been before.

Oliver had made her believe that he cared. He had made her feel special. He had made her think that he wanted to spend the afternoon with her, and that she meant something to him, even if it was only friendly. She could not believe Oliver had done that to her, after six years of friendship too!

"Katie, wait up!" She heard Oliver calling after her. She was waking quickly, ignoring the cold.

Her cheeks were flushed with anger and the cold, which, now that she thought about it, was biting at her. Her hair was whipping her face again and there were tears of fury on her face and in her eyes, blurring her vision.

She had reached the shrieking shack, which she felt was very appropriate at the moment, and Oliver had not yet caught up to her, although he was running. Katie, however, now had nowhere to go. She could start walking back down to Oliver, although that would entirely defeat the purpose of running away, or she could wait. The only other choice would be leaping the fence and taking refuge inside the shrieking shack, and she was not about to do that.

"Katie, wait. Let me talk to you." Oliver said breathlessly, reaching her.

"What? What could you possibly have to say?" She snapped, angrily. She looked up into his face. He did look genuinely remorseful, although she did not care anymore. he was not the person she had thought, and that was that.

'_But maybe it's you who's different. Maybe you brought this upon yourself'_ a voice told her. She tried to shut it up but it persisted. '_You're not exactly the person you thought either, are you? Some innocent maiden you are. You toyed with his head, what did you expect? That he would sit back and take it? You've known Oliver longer than that, and better than that. When has he ever once taken anything lying down?' '_

'SHUT UP!' She told the voice in her head. It did not say anything else, but what it had said kept ringing and repeating over and over again in her head. Had she really changed that much? Why? Just to get Oliver? Was it really worth it if she had to be back stabbing and manipulative to do it? Had she turned into the girls in her books that she always hated? She asked in horror, realizing that she was headed in that direction.

"I wanted to apologize. I did go to the entrance hall, I really did. And when I got there you weren't there yet. Then I saw Cedric standing around waiting for you. You lied to me Katie! You said you weren't going to Hogsmede together. You said you would come with us and then you were planning on meeting him anyway." Oliver said, outraged.

He was yelling, but Katie did not notice over the wind. His story did make sense, although it was funny how far off he was. She did appreciate the irony in this. He had stood her up because he thought she was going to stand him up, and he had thought that because of her stupid games, designed to get him to like her in the first place! It was rather amusing when she thought of it. In a rather morbid and disappointing way. How cruel fate was.

"Cedric wasn't waiting for me." She said, no longer yelling. Her anger had faded, she was now just sad and disappointed with herself. She was looking at her feet, but when she said it she looked up to see his expression. She searched his eyes eagerly, looking for any sign that he believed her, or did not believe her.

"So who was he waiting for then?" Oliver asked, looking back at her with the same hard expression in her eyes.

"Cho Chang." Katie said simply.  
"Oh. I'm sorry Katie. Did you just find out today?" Oliver asked her, sounding genuinely sorry for her.

"Oliver, I found them making out behind the greenhouses almost two weeks ago. We broke up ages ago." Katie told him. He looked taken aback at this.

"You've been lying to me all this time." He said. It was not a question.

"No, Oliver. You never asked. I never mentioned Cedric to you. He asked me not to tell anyone." Katie said, falling back on the excuse he had given her.

"So...you weren't meeting Cedric?" Oliver asked, struggling to make the connection.

"Nope." Katie told him, much more calmly than she had in the three broomsticks. She looked at his hair and robes for the first time, seeing that they were soaked. There were Goosebumps on his neck and arms. He had not even taken the time to get his cloak, as he had run after her so quickly. That was sweet, but if he died of pneumonia because of it, it wouldn't do her much good.

"And…he cheated on you?" Cedric asked, apparently confused as to whether he should be happy or sad.

"Yes." Katie said.

"I'll kill him." Oliver swore.

"Don't." Katie said, looking away.

"I'm sorry Katie. I know you liked him. I won't kill him, just because you like him. I'm sparing him for your sake, not for his own." Oliver said. Katie snorted. "What?" Oliver asked, wondering whether he had sad the wrong thing again.

"I don't like him Oliver. I never liked him." She informed him, still looking at the ground.

"You- you didn't?" Oliver asked, confused once again.

"Nope. I didn't like him. I was trying to make someone else jealous." She said.

"Oh, so you like someone else then?" Oliver said. Katie noticed that the hope that had been in his voice was gone and replaced with sadness.

"Yes." Katie told him.

"And...and does he like you?" Oliver asked hesitantly.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Katie asked, looking up at last.

"Do I know him?" Oliver asked, still disappointed.

"Very well." Katie assured him. "But not quite as well as I know him."

"Is it Lee?" Oliver demanded, traces of disappointment lingering in his voice.

"No."

"It's not Fred or George?" Oliver asked sharply, looking at her inquisitively.

"Of course not!" Katie said, holding his gaze firmly and laughing a little, although nervously. "You must think me a very poor friend to think I would do that to Angelina or Alicia." She was about to confess six years of feelings and had no idea how he would react, although she did know how she hoped he would react.

"So, are you going to tell me who, or just wait until he asks you out and then let me find out?" Oliver asked morosely, obviously recalling the Cedric situation.

"I was hoping I would be able to tell him. But what makes you think he would ask me out?" Katie asked, smiling.

"Who wouldn't?" Oliver asked. "Cause if they didn't I would kill them." Oliver threatened menacingly. Katie almost believed him for a moment.

"Oliver you idiot! It's you! It's always been you! There's never been anyone else, always just you. Ever since the second year. I never liked Cedric. Why do you think I even joined the team to begin with? It sure as hell wasn't because I was passionate about the Quiddich." Katie said, her voice rising again with her mounting frustration.

"Really?" He asked. To Katie's surprise he did not sound like he felt awkward. He sounded more flattered.

"Of course it is! I wouldn't make all that up." Katie assured him.

"Oh." Oliver said.

"So, do you…" Katie started, trailing off. When Oliver remained silent she looked up, locking eyes with him again.

Instead of speaking he bent forward, kissing her tenderly on the lips. This was not like their first kiss. This was not just an in the heat of the moment 'my girlfriend just dumped me and I need comforting' kiss. This was an 'I love you, I have always loved you, and there is only you' kiss. And although Katie knew that Oliver had had other girlfriends who he had claimed to love, at least that's what he had always told her, he would never say that to them, she still felt that this time was different.

She knew Oliver had a history, that he was a ladies' man, that he had had lots of other girlfriends, but somehow she didn't care. All that mattered was him and her. She was walking on sunshine, floating in the clouds. The cold did not effect her. She could not longer feel anything except the heat of his lips on her own.

As they kissed Katie felt a snowflake fall on her head, then on her arms, and before she knew it she was caught in a snowstorm. The wind had caught up and they were standing in the snow, their arms around each other. It was as if they were in a snow globe, the wind had picked up more than ever and was causing the snow to swirl around them.

"Oliver?" She asked against his lips. He pressed harder on her mouth. She kissed back. This was everything she had wanted and more than she had hoped for. That first kiss had only been a taste compared to this.

She wrapped her arms around his soaking head and felt the Goosebumps on the back of his neck. She ran her fingers up and down his neck, causing them to grow even larger. She parted her lips to allow his tongue inside her mouth. He own tongue explored his mouth. He had wrapped his arms around her waste and was pulling her closer to him. She responded fervently and the kiss deepened, growing more passionate.

"Oliver?" She said again, moving her hands down to his arms and gripping them firmly.

"What?" He asked, drawing back only slightly and looking as if he did not want to stop kissing her, ever. She smiled at that. She was glad to finally be the one in his arms.

"Does this mean you like me too?" She asked.

"Of course I like you. You're perfect. Who wouldn't like you?" He demanded. "Show me someone who doesn't like you, and I'll kill them." He growled the last part into her ear, leaning close to her and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. She shivered.

"So...you're not going to tell me that this was a mistake?" She persisted, needing to know before she got too caught up in his kiss to handle the disappointment if this turned out to be a one time thing.

"Never. It's never a mistake with you." He assured her.

"But, it was last time." She said, pushing him back as he made to kiss her again.

"That was my mistake for saying it was a mistake." When she refused to kiss him again he sighed, drawing back more. "Look, Katie, you're more important than that to me. You're my best friend, and the only one who gets me. I didn't want us to just be a one time thing. If we were going to do this then I wanted to do it right. That's what I was trying to tell you when you told me you were with Cedric." He told her, sadly.

More than satisfied with this answer she made to kiss him again. She wanted to taste more of him. This time it was him who drew back, although his arms were still roped around her waste inside her coat, in part to stay warm and in part to hold her close.

"What?" It was Katie's turn to be annoyed now.

"Why didn't you tell me that you two had broken up?" Oliver asked her.

"I don't know." Katie said, waving it off with her hand and then placing it around his neck again.

"That's not good enough, I'm afraid." He said, blocking her advances.

"Fine. It was because, I was playing stupid games. I'm such a fool. In wanted to make you jealous." Katie told him her embarrassment evident in her tone.

"You never had to play games to make me jealous, Katie. I was jealous just looking at you and knowing you were with him." Oliver told her, looking astonished that she would have thought of such a thing.

"Really?" She asked.

"Every minute of every day." He promised.

"That's sweet." She said, leaning forward again. This time he made no effort to stop her, but kissed her back firmly and roughly, his hands exploring her back, and hers his face.

"Oliver, you're freezing." She said.

"I'm not." He denied, kissing her swiftly on the mouth before she could pull away again.

"You are and we're going back to Hogwarts to continue this where it's warm." Katie decreed.

"As long as we can continue this, I don't care where we do it." Oliver said, somewhat under his breath. Katie laughed. They walked back to the carriages together in the snow. He had his arm around her. Katie was grinning from ear to ear. She was happier than she had ever been. This was too perfect for words. She was with Oliver. He had his arm around her. It was like a scene from a book. It was like a scene from her dreams.

They reached the carriages and found that not many people had left yet, as most of the carriages were still there. They slid into one and set of for Hogwarts. Katie leaned into Oliver's side. he put his arm around her. It felt so natural. so perfect.

Katie smiled and sighed happily, smelling the familiar Oliver scent. He smelled like, to Katie at least, desire. But maybe that was because she had spent so long desiring him that she began associating his smell with desire. Perhaps Fred smelled like desire to Angelina. Katie did not know, but either way, that was his smell to he and she inhaled it eagerly.

She looked up at Oliver's face and saw that he too was beaming, which only caused the warm feeling of contentment inside her to grow.

They reached the castle and walked inside quickly, eager to get out of the snow and to somewhere warmer and quieter. Already the snowstorm had covered the ground in at least and inch of snow. Katie thought briefly that those who were still in Hogsmede would get caught there overnight. Katie then remembered that they were in the magical world and that even if the snow got very deep, the carriages would find a way to get through to Hogwarts.

They arrived in the common room and found it as empty as when Katie had left. That is to say almost empty except a few first and second years who could not yet to Hogsmede. The other older Gryfindors appeared to be in Hogsmede, their dorms, or the library.

Katie and Oliver sat on a couch directly in front of the fire so that they could warm up from the harsh weather outside. Katie removed her cloak, Oliver did not have one as he had left to three broomsticks to find Katie so quickly that he had left it behind.

Katie sat down beside Oliver and leaned into him, sighing with satisfaction. Now everything was perfect. She was with Oliver, she was warm, and happy, and had no homework to do all weekend.

"Katie?" Asked Oliver.

"Yes?" Said Katie, giggling a little. When he spoke his chest vibrated and tickled her.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, I assumed we had sort of passed that stage, what with the kissing and the cuddling and everything." Katie said, a little startled that he was asking her.

"Well, yes, but I figured I should make it official so to speak. I didn't want there to be any confusion that this is not a one night stand or anything....or a one afternoon stand either." Oliver explained.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Oliver." Katie said solemnly, sitting up to look at him.

"Good." He said contentedly. Katie leaned into his chest again. She felt her eyes closing as the sounds of the common room, the heat of the fire, and Oliver's steady breathing lulled her to sleep. Life was truly perfect. This definitely was all it was cracked up to be.

She felt, in her semi-consciousness, Oliver shifting underneath her.

"Oh, sorry Ollie, am I making you uncomfortable?" Katie asked quickly, sitting up.

"No, not at all, go back to sleep." Oliver said softly. She leaned into him. His arm was around her shoulder. As she struggled to regain her drowsing state he stroked her upper arm and hair. He made little circles on her skin with the pad of his finger.

She smiled happily as she felt Oliver kiss the top of her head tenderly. He really was quite romantic, when all was said and done. Margaret didn't know what she was missing.

A few moments later, just as Katie was about to actually fall asleep, she heard a thumping and loud voices in the corridor outside. Katie did not want to move.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Asked the loud voice of George, entering through the portrait hole.

"We wondered where you got off to." Fred said, smiling cheekily.

"Here's your cloak, Oliver. You left it in the Three Broomsticks when you rushed off after Katie." Angelina said, tossing the cloak at him. It landed on Katie, covering her from view.

"Where is Katie?" Asked Alicia, who had just entered through the portrait, followed by Lee.

"She's right here." Oliver said, removing the cloak from her. He had to take his arm from around her neck and shift his position in order to this. Katie sat up reluctantly.

"Hey guys, did you lot have fun in Hogsmede?" She asked.

"Yes…" Angelina said, obviously waiting for an explanation. "Did you?" She asked, prompting.

"Yes." Oliver said at once.

"A very good time." Katie added, looking at Oliver and exchanging a meaningful look.

"So, does this mean you two are finally together?" Lee asked bluntly.

"Yes." Oliver said again, smiling.

"So I suppose I'm the only one left alone." He said, sighing. "Way to desert me and all the ranks of single men, Oliver." Lee told him reproachfully.

"Sorry mate, but she's worth it." Oliver said, looking at Katie with an unmistakable look in his eyes.

"Whoa, get a room mate." George said, shielding his eyes.

"Whatever happened to bros over hos?" Asked Lee indignantly.

"Well, that would be the case, if Katie were a ho. But since she's not the rule does not apply." Oliver informed him. 'Hos over bros' was an American phrase that Lee had picked up last summer when his American cousins visited, bringing their sayings, music, and TV shows. Katie smiled at Oliver. That seemed to be all she was capable of doing in this drowsy, happy state she was in.


End file.
